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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 27: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates with Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 27: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates with Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
It was a wretched day in the office for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. With Valtteri Bottas languishing down the order, it was up to Hamilton to bring home the bacon.
He had a golden opportunity to regain his championship lead when Max Verstappen crashed out. However, he squandered it when he skidded off the track in the first corner due to overheating brakes. That cost him several positions and he ended up outside the points. This ended Hamilton’s sequence of ending with points finish in a record 54-consecutive races.
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In light of this, team principal Toto Wolff said, “We have four hours to get on the plane now. Maybe we’ll drink, not good to say on Sky, but maybe we will drink. He just, he doesn’t make any mistakes, and that is what you need to remember.”
How did the race unravel for Lewis Hamilton?
Throughout the race, the battle for the win was between Hamilton and Verstappen. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez slowly crept up and lay there waiting to pounce.
When misfortune struck race leader Verstappen, Perez stepped up to challenge Lewis Hamilton. During the restart, Hamilton got off the line well and was ahead of the Mexican.
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Formula One F1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in action at the start of the race REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
Unfortunately, he out-braked himself on cold brakes and skidded off the track. By the time he rejoined the track, he had lost a number of positions and was almost at the back.
In the end, he could only recover to finish 15th fastest, with Bottas finishing 12th. Since Sergio Perez won the race, it bolstered Red Bull’s position in the championship standings.
All in all, it was a race with a chaotic ending and a lot of excitement. Admittedly, Verstappen’s crash practically handed the race to Hamilton on a silver platter.
However, the reigning 7-time World Champion bottled it with that mistake into Turn 1. Needless to say, Sergio Perez needed no second invitation, and neither did Sebastian Vettel. It is also worth mentioning that the non-points finish meant that it snapped a 54-race point-scoring streak.
READ MORE: Teary-Eyed Lewis Hamilton Explains Embarassing Reason for Going Off in Baku
